Published: November 20th 2010 - at 8:54 pm

The Labour party got a lot of flak over the “cash for honours” inquiry across 2006 and 2007, which finally ended with nobody facing charges.

How things change.

Today’s Times front-page splash sees Ed Miliband attacked for “snubbing” party donors – because only one of the ten new Labour peers had been a party donor, Sir Gulam Noon.

The newspaper’s report says that Gordon Brown was considering offering working peerages to more party donors – Nigel Doughty, Sir Ronald Cohen and fundraiser Jon Mendelsohn – but that Miliband decided not to make those nominations.

Another senior party figure said: “These people have brought millions of pounds into the party and it’s no use being idealistic about it. We need the money.”

…
A spokeswoman said yesterday that the decision over working peers was another indication of how “Generation Ed will do things differently”. She added: “Ed is his own man. He was under no obligation to pick people who Gordon had, or had not, signalled would get peerages.”

David Cameron faces the more traditional criticism – having ennobled several Tory donors. The new Tory list included Robert Edmiston, whose nomination has previously been rejected in 2005.

The Daily Telegraph reports this related to questions over his tax affairs. The right-of-centre newspaper calls the ‘controversial “front” organisation the Midlands Industrial Council’, because it funds party activity in a way which allows the identity of donors to be kept secret.

The Independent’s Saturday editorial criticises the persistent correlation between cash and honours.

This is not an open and shut point. There are certainly some who donate to political parties who are legitimate choices as working peers. (Some of the Tory appointments – such as Tory party fundraiser and co-chairman, Andrew Feldman, a long-standing Cameron friend – reflect political activism, and so are not out of the ordinary for working peerages on behalf of a party).

At least some political donors have brought particular policy expertise to government. David Sainsbury, for example, was hailed as the scientists’ science minister after eight years which transformed the funding and profile within government of British science.

—
A longer version is at Next Left

About the author
Sunder Katwala is a regular contributor to Liberal Conspiracy. He is the director of British Future, a think-tank addressing identity and integration, migration and opportunity. He was formerly secretary-general of the Fabian Society.
· Other posts by Sunder Katwala


Story Filed Under: Blog ,Labour party ,Westminster

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